Reducing Home Energy Costs as Prices Rise
If you haven’t noticed already, energy prices are rising significantly; this includes electricity and gas because they come from the same supplier, and market changes are usually passed on to customers. With that in mind, here are some ways to reduce your energy bills this year.
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Saving Electricity: Install a Smart Meter
In the past, households had to rely on someone from the energy company to come to their home to read the meter and send them an electricity bill. This system means that you don’t have much information or control over how much power you are using and what habits you need to change.
Nowadays, it’s common to have a smart meter in your home. If you don’t have one of these already, you can get one by contacting your energy provider. A smart meter records your home’s electricity usage, helping you make smarter decisions about your daily lifestyle.
Energy Saving Devices
Whether it is your washing machine, dishwasher, or HVAC, we need to ensure that the appliances in our homes are energy efficient. There are two ways to ensure energy efficiency, buy machines with A+++ ratings and hire an HVAC Contractor to clean your system regularly.
Although it might seem like a relatively minor action, switching your home appliances can save you up to 35% on your energy bill on average. Considering that energy prices are increasing rapidly, this percentage saving is likely to rise, so make the switch and save.
Switch Power Sources
Many factors affect the price of energy for consumers. Since most energy companies supply gas and electricity, the price of electricity often rises even if the gas price has been affected. Global gas prices have increased this year, but so has the demand for more electricity.
The result is that households must fork out hundreds more every year for their normal energy usage. It makes sense to consider this when planning your lifestyle to reduce costs. If possible, switch to a rechargeable power source for your lighting since it’s far cheaper to run.
Saving Gas: Smart Thermostat
As with a smart meter for your electricity, a smart thermostat for your gas can help save you hundreds every year without much effort. A smart thermostat makes your home more efficient by only warming the rooms you are using and learning how much gas is needed to heat rooms.
Also, when you install a smart thermostat, you can operate it remotely using a smartphone; this allows you to optimize your home’s energy usage on the go and ensures that you never return to a cold house in the winter. Even reasonable controls can help save hundreds.
Reducing Home Energy Costs: Insulation
Since it’s so expensive to generate energy these days, it’s best practice to trap as much heat as possible. There are a few simple ways to achieve this: you can hang heavy curtains to contain heat in the winter, insulate your home’s roof, and invest in double-glazing for energy efficiency.
